HOUSTON — Continental Airlines Inc., already in consolidation talks with United Airlines, also has had discussions with American Airlines, according to a report.
Continental and Dallas-based American, a unit of AMR Corp., declined to comment on the report that first appeared in the Houston Chronicle on Friday afternoon.
Mark Adams, a Continental pilot who’s communications chair for the local affiliate of the Air Line Pilots Association, said he thinks it would make sense for American to be interested in a deal.
“I don’t think you can discount them,” Adams told the Chronicle.
American’s chief financial officer, Tom Horton, recently said consolidation has the potential to create efficiencies, expand product offerings and benefit the industry and consumers.
“So we continue to assess the situation carefully,” he said during a conference call to discuss the company’s fourth-quarter earnings.
But it’s widely thought American is too large to win Justice Department approval for a merger.
On Thursday, The Associated Press reported that United and Continental are in advanced negotiations and could complete a combination quickly if Delta and Northwest strike a deal.
The prospects for an imminent Delta-Northwest deal seemed to improve Thursday when Air France-KLM, the world’s largest airline by revenue, said it was considering investing in a Delta-Northwest combination.
Such a deal is expected to trigger more consolidation in the highly competitive airline industry, as rivals try to match or eclipse Delta-Northwest, which would become the world’s largest airline.
